This invention relates generally to a uniquely designed bearing, and more particularly pertains to a style of counter-rotatable bearing that may be used in conjunction with nonannular or even nonsymmetrical surfaces for providing bearinged support for any item operatively held thereby.
A great variety of bearings are readily available in the prior art and for use in facilitating the movement of a component with respect to discrete surfaces. For example, sleeve, ball, straight roller, tapered roller, thrust, and spherical bearings have long been used for providing generally either a lineal or constant radial movement of one part with respect to its bearing mounting upon near perfect diametrically circular shafts or a symmetrical track or other supportive structure. That bearings have long been used for these types of operations is well known, but the problems associated with the use of bearings for providing nonlineal, inarcuate, or nonannular paths of movement are not available to the art generally because the associated problems of use of bearings for furnishing movement upon a variable curved track have not been solved.
A bearing of the style of this invention, which can best be described as an elastic form of bearing that can conform to even an irregular bearing surface, while having utility in a variety of fields, has found a special value, as for example, in the field of gymnastics in providing a bearinged support that functions not only upon a nonannular surface, but at the same time, has adjustability in its size dimension so as to accommodate a variety of proportions or shapes for the item or user being held. Various attempts have been made to solve the problem of providing a bearing that could be used with a belt of the type employed in instructing and aiding in the methods of training a tumbler, and one such belt is shown in the United States patent to Nissen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,357. As can be seen, this patent contemplates the formation of an iner belt having an outer belt slidably associated therewith so that longitudinal turning may be undertaken by the acrobatic student. While this belt was useful for its intended purpose, and comprising one of the earlier models of such belt for use as a teaching aid in tumbling, its lack of true bearing relationship between its inner and outer parts that would reduce the frictional contact between these two components did present a problem during its usage. Efforts were made by others to incorporate some form of a bearing into the belt structure so as to remedy the problem of frictional contact between the stationary belt, and its moveable belt segment, but the variety of movements undertaken by the gymnast while maneuvering presents a great variety of stresses and directional forces acting against the freedom of roller bearing, and therefore, adds to the inutility of the belt other than when a longitudinally made jump and twist combination was undertaken by the performer. This apparatus is shown in the U.S. patent to Pond, U.S. Pat. No. 2,496,748. Other incidental problems with the Pond style of belt included its being too bulky, thereby interferring with the gymnast's movements, and it could not fit closely and comfortably about the user's waist.
Methods to improve the use of a belt so as to overcome the problem of bearing binding when a variety of body motions are made by the gymnast is shown in the apparatuses disclosed in the United States patents to Murphy (the same inventor herein), said patents being U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,372,926 and 3,432,163. As can therein be seen, the gymnastic tumbling device as shown incorporates the use of a tumbling and twisting belt that is formed presenting races upon which various designed bearings may ride. While this particular belt, once again, was useful by the gymnast during performance, one of the inherent problems with such a belt is that when multiple motions are made by the gymnast, such as a combined tumble, twist and somersault, there is a tendency for the belt to become reasonably distorted under the influence of the exerted body forces, causing the track to somewhat distort, and therby effecting some frictional binding between one or more of the multiple bearings associated for riding upon the shown track. Thus, while the gymnast may be performing the combined tumbling and twists, he could feel the drag by reason of the constrained movement of the rollers about the distorted belt track, such as one experiences during usage of the belts shown within these or earlier prior art patents, which therefore does not furnish the complete frictionless movement desired by the gymnast, as when one performs without the use of any auxiliary supportive structure.
It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide a support incorporating cooperative bearings that are free for movement about most of the nonannular surfaces provided by any specially designed race or track, while at the same time, each rotatable member or segment of the bearing undertakes a single path of rotation, and even counter rotation with respect to each other, regardless which form of exercise or movement is undertaken by its user.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a bearing that is free to attain near frictionless movement about a variety of surfaces, even nonannular surfaces, such as ellipsis, rectangles, trapezoids, and even tracks having the configuration of a figure eight, or the like.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a bearing that presents at least a pair of bearing surfaces having independent rotationable movement upon accompanying tracks or races, so that each roller may independently turn, even in opposing directions, with respect to its discrete surface and yet stabilize and secure the retention of the total bearing to the plurality of accompanying tracks.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a bearing having counter rotating rollers, each being in contact with its own race, with one roller being in contact with one race, and clear of the other, while the corresponding roller rides and operates upon the other race.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a bearing that can freely move upon accompanying tracks without resistance even when the tracks may distort when subjected to twisting forces.
A significant object of this invention is to provide a bearing that utilizes counter rotating rollers mounted upon a single axis.
Another object of this invention is to provide a support utilizing a plurality of the aforesaid bearings and which support has a great variety of applications.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a bearinged support for use by the gymnast, as when performing upon the trampoline, balance beam, horizontal bar, or even when tumbling, or for use in conjunction with related type equipment.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a support that has applicability as a cam follower.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a bearinged support that is adjustable in size without detracting from the near frictionless movement of its inherent bearings.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bearing that has applicability for use in the continuous or intermittent motion machinery field.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a bearing that can be incorporated for use in conjunction with treads upon various equipment.
A further object of this invention is the provision of overhead supports for use in conjunction with the bearing support of this invention and for enhancing the ease of adjustability of the equipment used by the gymnast.
Another object is to provide a roller for a conveyor for transferring material around curves and varying elevations, such as a parts conveyor traversing a finishing line, or as through preclean, painting and drying ovens.
These and other objects will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the subject matter of this invention, and upon undertaking a study of the description of the preferred embodiment in view of its drawings.